Robert De Niro shelled out $25,000 total to alter and then restore his teeth for a single role.
The 83-year-old Oscar winner paid $5,000 upfront to have his real teeth filed down for his portrayal of Max Cady in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 psychological thriller “Cape Fear,” and later spent $20,000 reversing the damage once production wrapped. The film, which marked its 35th anniversary this weekend, cast De Niro as a terrifying psychopath released after 14 years in prison for rape who systematically terrorizes the lawyer who once defended him.
The dental work was only one component of De Niro’s physical overhaul for the character. He adopted a targeted workout regimen designed to build what the production described as “prison muscles,” giving Cady a specific kind of hardened physique. Temporary tattoos were also applied across his body using vegetable dyes that lingered on his skin for months after filming concluded.
The combined effect was meant to make Cady appear even more menacing and unsettling as he hunted down his former attorney and targeted the man’s family. De Niro’s commitment to the transformation placed him in a long tradition of actors undergoing extreme physical changes for roles, including Christian Bale’s drastic weight loss for “The Machinist” and his own earlier muscle buildup for Scorsese’s “Raging Bull.”
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert awarded “Cape Fear” three stars and pinpointed what distinguished De Niro’s creation from a standard villain. “With this new version of Max Cady, Scorsese gives us not simply a bad man, but an evil one,” Ebert wrote in his review.
Victoria Luxford assessed the performance for BBC.com in 2023, noting the departure from De Niro’s established screen persona. “(De Niro) had played a tough guy before, but never quite like this: a very sinister, very jagged, very dangerous character,” Luxford wrote. “Put that together with Martin Scorsese at possibly the peak of his powers, and it’s a delightful if slightly scary film.”
Vincent Canby of the outlet issued a warning alongside his praise. “Stay away if you’re squeamish but, if you do, you’ll miss an essential work by one of our masters, as well as two of the year’s most accomplished performances, those of Mr. De Niro and Ms. Lewis,” Canby wrote in his review.
The investment in De Niro’s physical transformation yielded professional recognition even if it fell short of the industry’s top honor. He earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for his chilling performance, losing the statuette only to Anthony Hopkins for his legendary turn in “The Silence of the Lambs.”
